The Sweet Life

You Are Cookie Monster Misunderstood as a primal monster, you're a true hedonist with a huge sweet tooth. You are usually feeling: Hungry. Cookies are preferred, but you'll eat anything if cookies aren't around. You are famous for: Your slightly crazy eyes and usual way of speaking How you life your life: In the moment. "Me want COOKIE!" The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

Today is the first day of the Farmer's Market that's closest to me. It's every Saturday from now through October. Excited, and sleepy (I didn't get many winks last night) I ventured over to the ATM and walked to see what's available. What really got my attention were the flowers. I really wanted peonies, but my allergies were acting up. Let me correct that, I really wanted one of everything, but couldn't get too much. The one thing I don't like about my apartment is that there's no balcony, and no direct sunlight. I did see strawberries and rhubarb, but I'd made a tart a little while back and wasn't in the mood to make another one. Besides that, Thursday and Friday were my days off and I don't know next week's schedule yet, so I didn't want the produce to rot away in the veggie bin. I didn't walk away empty-handed, nor did I leave with anything exciting: beautiful spring onions, dried tart cherries (I just love these thing...

Well, not yet, almost. I've got 22 days until the big day. I've been busy with work and resting from work, I haven't thought much about the day other than that it's coming up, I'll be a year older, and I want to go out to dinner. And then there's the problem of the cake. I have no idea what I want to bake. For myself. So I need everyone's help. I'm out of ideas about what to make, but I know what I like to eat. bittersweet chocolate (of course) coffee pecans almonds peanuts caramel vanilla cinnamon blueberry brown sugar pomegranate cherries mascarpone This is a short list, and I'm sure I'll think of things I've missed. But I need all the help I can get. Post your ideas in the comments. Thanks!

Tonight I went with my chef to represent pastry for an off-site event. There were celebrity chefs from the Food Network as well as local chefs. It was an all out event, there was a Chinese woman dancing a traditional dance, they even had a white dragon dancing from the first room where they had the savory food, silent auctions, and entertainment to the second room where we had desserts and a live auction. After setting up and going over the game plan, Chef and I went walking about to see the sights. We separated and as I wandered over to the other side of the hall, glimpsing Ming Tsai, I heard a familiar voice. I look up and guess who turns around . . . Iron Chef America Cat Cora! We chat, she offers me some of her dish, I compliment her, and as I turn away, I see none other than Giada De Laurentiis! There are so many people in the area, I figure I didn't have a chance to go see her before I had to finish setting the food out by 7:30. I made my way to our corner and speak t...

I went home for a long weekend and soaked up a lot of sun and ate quite a bit of food, though that was a rocky start. My first choice was Ninfas , and the location we drove to was closed (looks like for good), and my second choice was closed until dinner. My third choice, Landry's , was open, so we went there. It took some driving around, and I was starving by the time I got there, but as always, it was a nice experience. I didn't get any food shots (did I mention I was starving when I got there?), but I did get a pretty good shot of the mural on the back wall. Although I didn't do anything really exciting (a trip to Wal-mart is exciting enough for me, since I don't have access here in the city), I enjoyed my time with my parents, eating, relaxing, sleeping in a real, but narrow bed, and the complete silence that is the suburbs. It was so quiet my ears hurt! Mom cooked a really great dinner Sunday night, but she wouldn't let me take photos of the cornbread. W...

I've spent the past three nights in a fever, cold sweat, chills, tangled sheets. Not nights of passion, but nights of pneumonia, the walking kind. Which is kinda ironic considering I couldn't sit up, let alone stand up for more than 2 minutes at a time (propped up on three pillows mind you). It hit me Monday evening, when my lungs started hurting at work, and I woke up Tuesday feeling pretty bad. Now that I'm on the mend ( actually drank my first glass of cold water today!), all I want to do is eat (though my taste is still a bit "off"), and stay away from orange Gatorade and tacos. When this girl is sick, she just wants her mother and when she doesn't have that, she channels her and begins to think like her. For instance: Tuesday morning I wake up with a fever and decide to go to the doctor. I come home, get out of the cab, drop off my prescripts at Walgreens, go to the store to get food, pick up meds (at this time, I'm ready to drop into a grave, I...

This time, I was able to wait for my batteries to charge. Not much else going on food-wise. I got a subscription to Gourmet for Christmas and started receiving Bon Appetit from that Sur La Table promotion (spend $50 or more) from a couple of months ago. Anyway, here's a better photo. Proof I still cook from time to time.